baseballfandomcom-20200222-history
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles (nicknamed The O's and The Birds) are a Major League Baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They are in the Eastern Division of the American League. They are owned by attorney Peter Angelos. Milwaukee Brewers The modern Orioles franchise can trace its roots back to the original Milwaukee Brewers of the Western League, beginning in 1894 when the league reorganized. The Brewers were there when the WL renamed itself the American League in 1900. When the league declared itself a major league in 1901, the Brewers were a charter member. When the National League disbanded four teams in 1899, Ban Johnson and the American League saw an opportunity to move in on the older league. Franchises were placed in three of the spurned cities, Baltimore, Cleveland and Washington in 1900, initially as part of the minor league American League. In 1901, the American League removed itself from baseball's national agreement and declared itself a competing Major League. The Milwaukee Brewers, which had been a part of the old Western League, was one of its charter members. During the first American League season, they finished dead last with a record of 48-89. During its lone Major League season, the team played at Lloyd Street Grounds, between 16th and 18th Streets in Milwaukee. As the baseball "war" heated up the American League began to challenge the senior circuit more directly. The American League already fielded teams in Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia, solid National League cities. In 1902 the Milwaukee Brewers were shifted to St. Louis, where they became the Browns. In 1903 the American League charter Baltimore Orioles would be shifted to New York as the new league challenged the older league head on. Johnson and the American League freely raided the National League for talent. When the upstart American League rapidly surpassed the older circuit in attendance, the National League sought peace. As part of baseball's 1903 peace agreement, the American League was recognized by the National League as a Major League, the American League was allowed to move into New York but agreed to stay out of Pittsburgh and the two leagues launched the World Series. St. Louis Browns After only a single season as a bona fide major league club, the team moved to St. Louis and renamed themselves the "Browns", in reference to the original name of the legendary 1880s club that by 1902 was known as the Cardinals. The Browns ranged from mediocre to cellar-dwelling for much of their time in St. Louis. They had two competitive periods, in the early 1920s, when they contended but were not good enough to catch strong teams of that time such as the Yankees and the Senators, and the early 1940s, the war years, when they finally hit paydirt briefly. In their first St. Louis season, the Browns finished second. After years of prosperity at the gate, in 1916 owner Robert Hedges sold the team to Philip Ball, who had owned the St. Louis Terriers of the defunct Federal League. Ball's tenure, lasting until 1933, was one of failure. Ball's first major blunder was allowing Branch Rickey, the resident genius in the Browns' front office, to jump to the Cardinals because of a conflict of egos. In 1920 Sam Breadon, who had just purchased the Cardinals, convinced Ball to allow his team to share the Browns' home, Sportsman's Park. Breadon put the money from the sale of the Cardinals' Robison Field into the minor league system, which eventually produced a host of star players that brought the Cardinals far more drawing power than the Browns. The 1922 Browns excited their owner by almost beating the Yankees to a pennant. The club was boasting the best players in franchise history, including future Hall of Famer George Sisler, and an outfield trio - Ken Williams, Baby Doll Jacobson, and Jack Tobin - that batted .300 or better in 1919-23 and in 1925. In 1922, Williams became the first player in Major League history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season, something that would not be done again in the Majors until 1956. Ball confidently predicted that there would be a World Series in Sportsman's Park by 1926. In anticipation, he increased the capacity of his ballpark from 18,000 to 30,000. There was a World Series in Sportsman's Park in 1926 - the Cardinals upset the Yankees. St. Louis had been considered a "Browns' town" until then; after 1926 the Cardinals dominated St. Louis baseball, while still technically tenants of the Browns. Meanwhile, the Browns rapidly fell into the cellar. War Era During the war, the Browns won their only St. Louis-based American League pennant in 1944. Some critics called it a fluke; most major league stars voluntarily joined or were drafted into the military; however, many of the Browns' best players were classified 4-F: unfit for military service. They faced their local rivals, the more successful Cardinals, in the 1944 World Series, the last World Series to date played entirely in one stadium, and lost 4 games to 2. In 1945, the Browns posted an 81-75 record and fell to third place, 6 games out, again with less than top-ranked talent. The 1945 season may be best remembered for the Browns' signing of utility outfielder Pete Gray, the only one-armed major league position player in history. Bill Veeck's St. Louis Browns In 1951, Bill Veeck, the former owner of the Cleveland Indians purchased the Browns. In St. Louis he extended the promotions and wild antics that had made him famous and loved by many and loathed by many others. His most notorious stunt in St. Louis was to send Eddie Gaedel, a midget, to bat as a pinch hitter. When Gaedel stepped to the plate he was wearing a Browns uniform with the number 1/8, and little slippers turned up at the end like elf's shoes. The stunt infuriated American League President Will Harridge. Veeck also brought the legendary, and seemingly ageless, Satchel Paige back to major league baseball to pitch for the Browns. Veeck had previously signed the former Negro League great to a contract in Cleveland in 1948 at age 42, amid much criticism. At 45, Paige's re-appearance in a Brown's uniform did nothing to win Veeck friends among baseball's owners. Nonetheless, Paige ended the season with a respectable 3-4 record and a 4.79 ERA. Veeck believed that St. Louis was too small for two franchises and planned to drive the Cardinals out of town. He signed many of the Cardinals' most locally loved ex-players and, as a result, brought many of the Cards fans in to see the Browns. Veeck signed former Cardinals great Dizzy Dean to a broadcasting contract. He stripped Sportsman's Park of any Cardinals material and dressed it exclusively in Browns memorabilia. He even moved his family to an apartment under the stands. Veeck's showmanship and colorful promotions made attendance at Browns games more fun and unpredictable than the conservative Cardinals were willing to offer. Veeck's direct assault on the faltering Cardinals almost worked, as the National League franchise began exploring options to leave St. Louis. Instead the Cardinals were bought by August Busch, Jr. of the Anheuser-Busch brewery. Realizing that the Cardinals now had overwhelming resources at their command, Veeck then began to consider moving the Browns. The Browns had been candidates for relocation earlier: in 1941, the Browns had come close to moving to Los Angeles, nearly two decades before big league baseball eventually arrived in California. The American League even drew up a schedule including Los Angeles and had a meeting scheduled to vote on the relocation of the Browns, but the bombing of Pearl Harbor killed the move. Veeck attempted to move the Browns back to Milwaukee (where he had owned the Brewers of the American Association in the 1940s), but the move was blocked by the other American League owners, seemingly for reasons that were more personal than business related. Veeck then tried to move the Browns to Baltimore himself. However, he was rebuffed by the owners, still seething by the publicity stunts he pulled at the Browns home games. Meanwhile, Sportsman's Park had fallen into disrepair. Veeck was forced to sell it to the Cardinals since he couldn't afford to make the necessary improvements to bring it up to code. With his only leverage gone and facing threats of liquidating his franchise, Veeck was all but forced to sell the Browns to a Baltimore-based group led by attorney Clarence Miles. With Veeck "out of the way", the American League owners quickly approved the 1953 relocation of the team to Baltimore. The team immediately took on the nickname "Orioles", a name with a long and storied history in the city. Baltimore Orioles Early Orioles In the 1890s, a powerful and innovative National League Orioles squad included several future Hall of Famers, such as "Wee" Willie Keeler, Wilbert Robinson, Hughie Jennings and John McGraw. They won three straight pennants, and participated in all four of the Temple Cup Championship Series, winning the last two of them. That team had started as a charter member of the American Association in 1882. Despite its on-field success, it was one of the four teams contracted out of existence by the National League after the 1899 season. Its best players (and its manager, Ned Hanlon) regrouped with the Brooklyn Dodgers, turning that team into a contender. In 1901, Baltimore and McGraw were awarded an expansion franchise in the growing American League, but again the team was sacrificed in favor of a New York City franchise, as the team was transferred to the city in 1903. After some early struggles, that team eventually became baseball's most successful franchise - the New York Yankees. As a member of the high-minor league level International League, the Orioles competed at what is now known as the AAA level from 1903-1953. Baltimore's own George Herman Ruth - nicknamed "Babe" - pitched for the Orioles before being sold to the AL Boston Red Sox in 1914. The Orioles of the IL won nine league championships, first in 1908, followed by a lengthy run from 1919 to 1925, and then dramatically in 1944, after they had lost their home field Oriole Park in a disastrous mid-season fire. The huge post-season crowds at their temporary home, Municipal Stadium, caught the attention of the big league brass and helped open the door to the return of major league baseball to Baltimore. Thanks to the big stadium, that "Junior World Series" easily outdrew the major league World Series which, coincidentally, included the team that would move to Baltimore 10 years later and take up occupancy in the rebuilt version of that big stadium. Modern Orioles The new AL Orioles took about six years to become competitive. By the early 1960s, stars such as Brooks Robinson, John "Boog" Powell, and Dave McNally were being developed by a strong farm system. The Orioles currently play their home games in Baltimore's Oriole Park at Camden Yards, named after the original Oriole Park which burned down in 1944. Milt Pappas for Frank Robinson In 1966, the Orioles traded pitcher Milt Pappas (and several others) to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for slugging outfielder Frank Robinson. That same year, Robinson won the American League Most Valuable Player award, thus becoming the first (and so far only) man to win the MVP in each league (Robinson won the NL MVP in 1961, leading the Reds to the pennant). In addition to winning the 1966 MVP, Robinson also won the Triple Crown (leading the American League in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.) The Orioles won their first ever American League championship in 1966, and in a major upset, swept the World Series by out-dueling the Los Angeles Dodgers aces Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Pappas went 30-29 in a little over two years with the Reds, before being traded. Although he would go on to have back-to-back 17-win seasons for the Chicago Cubs in 1971 and 1972, including a no-hitter in the latter season, this did not help the Reds, who ended up losing the 1970 World Series to Robinson and the Orioles. This trade has become renowned as one of the most lopsided in baseball history, including a mention by Susan Sarandon in her opening soliloquy in the 1988 film Bull Durham: "Bad trades are a part of baseball. I mean, who can forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas?" Glory Years (1966-1983) The Orioles farm system had begun to produce a number of high quality players and coaches who formed the core of winning teams; from 1966 to 1983, the Orioles won three World Series titles (1966, 1970, and 1983), six American League pennants (1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1983), and five of the first six American League Eastern Division titles. They played baseball the Oriole Way, an organizational ethic best described by longtime farm hand and coach Cal Ripken, Sr.'s phrase "'''perfect' practice makes perfect!"'' The Oriole Way was a belief that hard work, professionalism, and a strong understanding of fundamentals were the keys to success at the major league level. It was based on the belief that if every coach, at every level, taught the game the same way, the organization could produce "replacement parts" that could be substituted seamlessly into the big league club with little or no adjustment. This led to an unprecedented run of success from 1966 to 1983 which saw the Orioles become the envy of the league, and the winningest team in baseball. During this stretch, three MVP Awards (Frank Robinson-1966, Boog Powell-1970, Cal Ripken Jr.-1983), 6 Cy Young Awards (Mike Cuellar-1969, Jim Palmer-1973, 1975, 1976, Mike Flanagan-1979, Steve Stone-1980), and three Rookies of the Year (Al Bumbry-1973, Eddie Murray-1977, Cal Ripken Jr.-1982) were given to Baltimore Orioles players. Weaver Ball During this rise to prominence, Weaver Ball came into vogue. Named for fiery manager Earl Weaver, Weaver Ball is defined by the Oriole trifecta of "Pitching, Defense, and the Three-Run Home Run." When an Oriole GM was told by a reporter that Earl Weaver, as the skipper of a very talented team, was a "push-button manager" he replied "Earl built the machine and installed all the buttons!" As the Robinson boys grew older, newer stars emerged including multiple Cy Young Award winner Jim Palmer and switch-hitting first baseman Eddie Murray. With the decline and eventual departure of two local teams - the NFL's Baltimore Colts and baseball's Washington Senators, the Orioles' excellence paid off at the gate, as the team cultivated a large and rabid fan base at old Memorial Stadium. The Collapse and Redemption After winning the World Series in 1983, with Joe Altobelli as manager, the Orioles' organization finally began to decline. In 1986 the Orioles recorded their first losing record since 1967. The Orioles started the 1988 season unceremoniously by losing the first 21 contests, and ended the year at 54-108, the worst record for the franchise since 1939. The next year, the O's sported a new look, replacing the cartoonish bird with a more realistic one. The 1989 squad, led by surprise ace Jeff Ballard, rebounded to finish in 2nd place behind the Toronto Blue Jays with an 87-75 record, staying in contention until the last week of the season and earning the nickname "Why Not?" Orioles. Two years later, Cal Ripken, Jr. won MVP honors in the final season at Memorial Stadium. Oriole Park at Camden Yards In 1992, with grand ceremony, the Orioles began their season in a brand new ballpark, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and thus retiring Memorial Stadium in the major league baseball world. The name of the new park though did have much controversy in it. Many felt that since the Orioles' new home was so close to Babe Ruth's birthplace that the new park should have been named after Ruth instead of being indirectly named after the Earl of Camden, Charles Pratt, who was a Britisher who never set foot on American soil. There was also the superficial connection to the fact that Ruth played for the Orioles early in his career, but the Orioles team that Ruth played for was in no way related to the Orioles team that moved to Baltimore from St. Louis. In 1993, Peter Angelos bought the Baltimore Orioles, which returned the team to local ownership. However, Angelos' ownership resulted in a number of controversies. The Orioles also hosted the 1993 All Star Game. 1995: Ripken Breaks the Record In the season when baseball returned from the devastating players' strike, Cal Ripken, Jr. finally broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak of 2,130 games. This was later voted the all-time baseball moment of the 20th Century by fans from around the country in 1999. Ripken would finish with 2,632 straight games, finally sitting on September 20, 1998. 1996/1997: Playoffs Angelos hired Pat Gillick as GM for the Orioles in 1996. Gillick went on to bring in several premium players like B.J. Surhoff, Randy Myers, and Roberto Alomar. Under Gillick and manager Davey Johnson, the Orioles finally returned to postseason play by winning the American League's wild card spot in the 1996 season. The team set a major league record for home runs in a single season, with 257, and upset the Cleveland Indians in the Division Series before falling to the New York Yankees in a controversial American League Championship Series (famous for the fan, Jeffrey Maier, interfering with a ball and allowing the Yankees to win game 1). The Orioles followed up by winning the AL East Division title in 1997, going "wire-to-wire" (being in first place from the first day of the season to the last). After sweeping the Mariners in the opening round, the team lost again in the ALCS, this time a heartbreaker to the underdog Indians, in which each Oriole loss was by 1 run. After the Orioles failed to advance to the World Series in either playoff, Johnson resigned as manager following a dispute with Angelos, with pitching coach Ray Miller taking his place. 1998/1999: Beginning of a Downturn With Miller at the helm, the Orioles found themselves not only out of the playoffs, but also with a losing season. When Gillick's contract expired in 1998, it was not renewed. Angelos brought in Frank Wren to take over as GM. The Orioles added volatile slugger Albert Belle, but the team's woes continued in the 1999 season, with stars like Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar, and Eric Davis leaving in free agency. After a second straight losing season, Angelos fired both Miller and Wren. He named Syd Thrift the new GM and brought in former Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove. In 1998, the Orioles updated the Bird in their logo, and then once again in 1999 to bring it to its present form. 2000-2004 Going into the 2007 season, the Orioles will have had nine consecutive sub-.500 seasons due to the combination of lackluster play on the team’s part, a string of ineffective management, and the ascent of the Yankees and Red Sox to the top of the game - each rival having a clear advantage in financial flexibility due to their larger media market size. Further complicating the situation for the Orioles is the relocation of the Montreal Expos franchise to nearby Washington, D.C. - for which Angelos has demanded compensation from Major League Baseball. The new Washington Nationals threaten to carve into the Orioles fan base and television dollars. There is some hope that having competition in the larger Baltimore-Washington metro market will spur the Orioles to field a better product to compete for fans with the Nationals. Beginning with the 2003 season, big changes began to sweep through the organization to try to snap the losing ways. General manager Syd Thrift was fired and to replace him, the Orioles hired Jim Beattie as the Executive Vice President and Mike Flanagan as the Vice President of Baseball Operations'. After another losing season, manager Mike Hargrove was not resigned and Yankees coach Lee Mazzilli was brought in as the new manager. The team signed powerful hitters in SS Miguel Tejada, C Javy Lopez, and former Oriole 1B Rafael Palmeiro. The following season, the Orioles traded for OF Sammy Sosa. 2005 The 2005 season may go down as one of the most controversial in the Orioles' history. The Orioles began the season with a tremendous start, holding onto first place in the AL East division for 62 straight days. However, turmoil on and off the field began to take its toll as the team started struggling around the All-Star break, dropping them close to the surging Yankees and Red Sox. Injuries to Luis Matos, Javy Lopez, Brian Roberts, Sammy Sosa, and Larry Bigbie came within weeks of each other. The team was increasingly dissatisfied with the front office's and manager Lee Mazzilli's "band-aid" moves to help the team through this period of struggle. Various minor league players such as Single-A Frederick outfielder Jeff Fiorentino were brought up in place of more experienced players such as David Newhan, who batted .311 the previous season. Palmeiro downfall On July 15, 2005, Rafael Palmeiro collected his 3,000th hit in Seattle; but 15 days later he was suspended for a violation of MLB's drug policy, after testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. The Orioles continued tumbling, falling out of first place and further down the AL East standings. This downfall cost Lee Mazzilli his managerial job in early August, allowing bench coach and 2003 managerial candidate Sam Perlozzo to take over as interim manager and lead the team to a 23-32 finish. The Orioles called up Dave Cash from the Ottawa Lynx to serve as the team's first base coach. Collapse of the season The Orioles' 32-60 second half record is, from a percentage standpoint, the worst in baseball history after playing .600 ball for the first 70 days . The club's major offseason acquisition, Sammy Sosa, posted his worst performance in a decade, with 14 home runs and a .221 batting average. The Orioles did not attempt to resign him, considering his exorbitant salary, his miserable performance, and his stormy relationship with batting coach Terry Crowley and teammates including Miguel Tejada. The Orioles also allowed Rafael Palmeiro to file for free agency and publicly stated they would not resign him. On August 25, pitcher Sidney Ponson was arrested for DUI and on September 1 the Orioles moved to void his contract (on a morals clause) and release him. The Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance on Ponson's behalf and the case was sent to arbitration and has yet to be resolved. 2005-2006 offseason Front office changes Following the disappointing 2005 season, it was clear major changes needed to be made within the Orioles. In the front office, Executive VP Jim Beattie was not re-signed, allowing Mike Flanagan to become the sole GM of the Orioles. Shortly after, Jim Duquette was hired as Vice President of Baseball Operations, which was Flanagan's previous position. Duquette made it clear at his signing that he reported to Flanagan, so the "two-headed GM" will not exist anymore. The Orioles also fired assistant General Manager Ed Kenney and asked for the resignation of Dave Ritterpusch, Director of Baseball Information Systems. Coaching staff changes There were also drastic changes in the Orioles coaching staff. Perlozzo was named the new manager, and unlike Mazzilli, was given full freedom to name his coaching staff. Perlozzo led off strong by convincing Atlanta pitching coach Leo Mazzone, who had revolutionized the careers of many pitchers in Atlanta, to become the pitching coach for the Orioles. He retained hitting coach Terry Crowley and first base coach Dave Cash. Former base coach and 1983 World Series MVP Rick Dempsey replaced the late Elrod Hendricks as the bullpen coach, with Tom Trebelhorn resuming third base coach. Perlozzo rounded out his staff with former Cubs and Phillies manager Lee Elia as the bench coach. Roster changes The roster changes of 2005 were prefaced with Peter Angelos' comments: "We are coming back strong next year. I know you have heard that tune before, but this time it will literally come true." The Orioles allowed Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, and B.J. Surhoff to become free agents. They also set their wishlist: An everyday first baseman, an experienced starter, a closer, a defensive catcher, outfield help, more defense, and more speed. However, their offseason moves showed no differences from past years. The Orioles were not able to resign closer B.J. Ryan, who signed a landmark deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. They were also locked out in bids to sign first baseman Paul Konerko, outfielder Johnny Damon, and starter Paul Byrd. The Orioles were rumoured to have a deal with outfielder Jeromy Burnitz, but his agent balked, supposedly at language regarding the physical, which was deemed by legal experts to be rather standard, and Burnitz signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Orioles chose not to enter the bidding for players like A.J. Burnett and Kevin Millwood, whose asking prices were far beyond what the Orioles were willing to pay. The only target the Orioles managed to sign was catcher Ramon Hernandez. Locked out of pursuits to sign top-tier players, the Orioles decided to make several moves to allow minor league prospects more time to develop. This led to bringing in players like Jeff Conine and Kevin Millar, both of whom are known for their positive presence in the clubhouse. The Orioles also made several trades to bring in needed players. They first traded disgruntled reliever Steve Kline for LaTroy Hawkins, then traded for outfielder Corey Patterson, who brings speed and defense to the outfield, and traded former closer Jorge Julio and John Maine for experienced starter Kris Benson. The Orioles also addressed future free agents by extending the contract of outfielder Jay Gibbons and third baseman Melvin Mora, and are currently discussing contract extensions with second baseman Brian Roberts. The team's Opening Day roster featured top prospect Nick Markakis, a potential A.L. "Rookie of the Year", the best young position player the Orioles' farm system has produced since Brian Roberts. Markakis represents the revival of the Orioles' once proud farm system, which features four players listed in Baseball America's 2006 list of the top 100 prospects in minor league baseball. Miguel Tejada The Orioles' lack of movement over the course of the offseason frustrated many, including Miguel Tejada. This led to him stating, controversially, that he "wanted to play for a winner", and "perhaps a change of scenery is needed." The Oriole front office began to talk to many teams interested in Tejada as a trade. It was rumored that the Boston Red Sox offered All-Star outfielder Manny Ramirez for Tejada, though no Orioles officials confirmed this. There were also talks of Mark Prior being offered for Tejada. After several weeks, teammate Melvin Mora facilitated a conference call between the Orioles and Tejada where Tejada backed down and said his comments were intended to motivate the Orioles to make more moves in free agency. "O!" Since the 1970s, it has been a tradition at Orioles games for fans to accent the line of "Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave" in the "The Star Spangled Banner" by yelling "O!" This tradition carries on to this day. "O" is not only short for "Oriole," but the vowel is also the most stand-out aspect of the Baltimorean accent. Some consider the yell to be disrespectful to the national anthem. However, since Francis Scott Key wrote the National Anthem in Baltimore harbor during the War of 1812, some Baltimoreans feel they have the right to sing the song however they please. This tradition is even carried out during the Orioles' spring training home games in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The tradition is so strong and beloved, that it is carried out at many other sporting events, both professional and not, throughout the Baltimore/Washington area, notably at Baltimore Ravens and Maryland Terrapins games. The tradition has also sparked many high schools and universities in the Baltimore/Washington area to ask crowds to not do the chant while the national anthem is sung (to little effect). It has even been shouted during Washington Redskins home games. The "O!" created a bit of controversy in the spring of 2005 when some fans performed the "O!" cry at Washington Nationals games at RFK Stadium. Some believed that the cry was out-of-place at RFK, while others noted that many Washingtonians were still Orioles fans (the Orioles were the closest team to Washington after the Senators' relocation). A June 10, 2005 story in the Washington Post, by David Fahrenthold, noted that the "O" cheer was "faint to nonexistent" by early summer. Music It has been an Orioles tradition since 1980 to play John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" after "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch. During the bridge of the song, in which Denver holds a long note, fans yell "Ooooooooh!" Similar to the "O!" yell. This tradition is so strong, such that, in instances where other songs are performed during this time, such as "God Bless America," that "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" will usually be played and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" skipped. Other musical traditions include taking the field to the song "Oriole Magic," playing a sample from The Wizard of Oz of soldiers chanting "Oh-wee-oh! We-oh-oh," playing Yello's "O Yeah" after a good play by the Orioles, playing "Get Back" from The Beatles when an opposing batter has to return to the batter's box after he headed to first base on a ball that went foul, and playing "Hit the Road Jack" after when an opposing pitcher leaves. Some songs from special events include "One Moment in Time" for Cal Ripken's record-breaking game. For his last game, the theme from Pearl Harbor, "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill, was featured. The theme from Field of Dreams was played at the Last Game at Memorial Stadium in 1991. In the 2006 season, the song "Elevation," by U2, is played following a home run. The World Baseball Classic In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the Orioles contributed more players than any other major league team, with eleven players suiting up for their home nations. Erik Bedard and Adam Loewen pitched for Canada; Rodrigo López and Geronimo Gil (released before the season began by the club) played for Mexico; Daniel Cabrera and Miguel Tejada for the Dominican Republic; Javy Lopez and Luis Matos for Puerto Rico; Bruce Chen for Panama; Ramon Hernandez for Venezuela; and John Stephens for Australia. Quick facts :Founded: 1893, as the Milwaukee, Wisconsin franchise in the minor Western League. In 1900, that league became the American League, which achieved major league status in 1901. The original Baltimore Orioles of the National League moved to become the New York Yankees. :Formerly known as: Milwaukee Brewers, 1894-1901. St. Louis Browns, 1902-1953. :Home ballpark: Oriole Park at Camden Yards 1992-present :Prior home parks: Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) 1954-1991, Sportsman's Park (St. Louis) :Uniform colors: Black and Orange :Logo design: An oriole bird; the Baltimore Oriole is the official Maryland state bird :Playoff appearances (11): 1944, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1983, 1996, 1997 :Local Television: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, WJZ-TV (channel 13), WNUV-TV (channel 54), WDCW-TV (channel 50) :Local Radio: WBAL (1090 AM) Trivia *Of the eight original American League teams, Baltimore was the last to win the World Series, doing so in 1966 with its 4 game sweep of the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers in what proved to be Sandy Koufax's last season prior to retiring. While the Orioles were the St. Louis Browns, they played in only one World Series, that being the 1944 series against their Sportsman's Park co-tennant, the St. Louis Cardinals. The 1966 season was the start of the era of great Oriole teams, during which they either were in post season play (winning the 1966, 1970, and 1983 World Series) or were a contender for the league or division title. Postseason appearances Baseball Hall of Famers St. Louis Browns *Willard Brown *Jesse Burkett *Rick Ferrell *Goose Goslin *Rogers Hornsby *Heinie Manush *Satchel Paige *Branch Rickey *George Sisler *Rube Waddell *Bobby Wallace *Jim Bottomley *Bill Veeck Baltimore Orioles *Luis Aparicio *Reggie Jackson *George Kell *Eddie Murray *Jim Palmer *Robin Roberts *Brooks Robinson *Frank Robinson *Earl Weaver *Hoyt Wilhelm *Cal Ripken, Jr. Retired numbers †''Jackie Robinson's number 42 is retired throughout Major League Baseball'' Current roster Minor league affiliations * AAA: Norfolk Tides, International League * AA: Bowie Baysox, Eastern League * Advanced A: Frederick Keys, Carolina League * A: Delmarva Shorebirds, South Atlantic League * Short A: Aberdeen IronBirds, New York-Penn League * Rookie: Bluefield Orioles, Appalachian League * Rookie: VSL Orioles, Venezuelan Summer League See also *Orioles statistical records and milestone achievements *Orioles broadcasters and media *Orioles managers and ownership External links *Baltimore Orioles official web site *Scout.com Orioles Community * Category:Baltimore Orioles Category:Major League Baseball teams Category:American League teams Category:Teams in Maryland Category:Teams in the American League East